I almost hate including the term “healthy lifestyle” in the title of this article as it has quickly become overused and undefined. Lots of people throw it around as if it doesn’t need to come with instructions on how it works. The truth is that many people struggle daily with how to take the steps to healthy living.
Three levels
In my opinion, there are stages of developing a healthy lifestyle. First you need to define the word “health”. What does it mean to you? Energized, happy and well rested? Do you eat more than the recommended amounts of vegetables and fruits? Or just be free from symptoms of illness? The second step is to set goals to improve your health and create an action plan with specific steps on how to get there. Start small with something simple, like reducing the amount of food you eat or eating better quality foods that are lower in fat and calories. If you go beyond such a simple approach, you might be the type to seek out a dietician or nutritionist to help you on your journey to better health.
Two key components
Whatever your personal approach to a healthy lifestyle, two things are for sure… you need to improve your diet and exercise regularly. Period!
The missing ingredient
Why is something that is so easy so hard to do? The missing ingredient is discipline. To many, this may sound like a cliché; however, a lack of discipline and consistency can be a crippling poison to a healthy lifestyle.
When I was in the hospital in 1995 at the age of 33 with an irregular heartbeat, I had given up my daily training routine for several years. I ignored the signs and warnings and continued with my poor diet and no exercise. When I returned to the hospital 8 years later for the same illness, I realized that something had to change and that tomorrow wasn’t necessarily waiting for me to start. Oh, and by the way… tomorrow isn’t necessarily waiting for you either.
The bridge between goals and success.
Don’t let a hospital visit be your red flag. Start now, make a decision, get disciplined and build your bridge to a healthy lifestyle by eating better and getting active every day. Discipline is the bridge.
Thanks to Ken Crawford
